


Death and the Dark One

by CartoonJessie



Category: Once Upon a Time (TV)
Genre: Enchanted Forest AU, F/M, Gothic Romance, Rumbelle - Freeform, Rumbelle AU - Freeform, Rumbelle Revelry, Suicide trigger warning, dark story
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-10-25
Updated: 2017-10-25
Packaged: 2019-01-23 04:50:16
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,918
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12499132
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/CartoonJessie/pseuds/CartoonJessie
Summary: Rumplestiltskin is mourning the loss of his son when he decides to make a deal with the Grim Reaper – only, she’s nothing like he expected her to be – but she’s a kind soul who hates her job. Fascinated by her, he keeps on killing people to see her.





	Death and the Dark One

There was no greater pain than the pain of losing a child.

Everyone knew that, and so did the Dark One. But between knowing and _truly_ knowing, there was a massive difference.

As his son lay dying in his arms, suffering as he had drank a magical poison that had been meant for _him_ instead, he tried to bargain with gods he had never before acknowledged as real.

He was crying, sobbing and shouting… While Baelfire was long beyond that point, his breathing heavy as he tried to hold onto life, his eyes falling closed every few seconds, before his gaze came to rest on his papa again.

Though Rumplestiltskin was quiet, thoughts and pleas raced through his mind.

 _Take me instead…_  
I will do anything…   
Please, my boy, I love you…  
Don’t leave me…

Though the child had stopped talking a while ago, the boy was still looking at his papa whenever he could, his gaze not afraid – for he had always been brave – and compassionate and loving.

“Baelfire, stay with me…” Rumplestiltskin tried one last time, but he noticed how his son suddenly looked away, and slowly a smile spread across his pale, feverish face.

“It’s okay, papa,” he said, no longer looking at his father. “I’ll be fine…”

As his last breath left him, his gaze froze, and Rumplestiltskin was clinging to the body of his son, realizing that it was too late, and that there was no bargaining with death.

“I won’t be,” he sobbed as he pressed his forehead to that of Baelfire, and as he sat there, crying, he looked and felt like the most miserable man alive.

+++

She took no pleasure in her job.

Watching souls leave their loved ones behind was always sad, but in this particular case it was even worse.

As the Dark One sat by the lifeless body of his son, crying and shouting and wheezing as he could hardly breathe, she noticed that the boy could no longer hear it. He was smiling widely at her, like he was happier than ever to see her, even though they were complete strangers.

She did not see the same as the boy. Whatever she saw always was different from what a passing soul could see.

She saw the white gate, _and_ the misery of the real world around it.

Baelfire only saw the promise of a sweet afterlife, and before he stepped through the gate, he shot her one last, beautiful smile, as though he had no care left in this world – and that had to be true the moment he moved on to a better place.

But as the boy and the white gate disappeared, she was left in the in-between, looking at the peculiar man that had never been so alone or looked as fragile.

She could sense his darkness within, but at this moment, she also saw his compassion and love, even if it was turning to anger and an incurable sadness.

He caressed the lifeless face of his sweet boy, and as he cried, so did she.

It was truly a dreadful job, if only because with all the misery she saw, she had nowhere to take it, just like this father now had no one left on this horrible world to share his grief with.

She wallowed in the same sadness as he did, sitting by his side for a long while, even if he did not know. She wished she could comfort him, but that was not part of the job description, and as she sat by this man or monster’s side, she felt his loneliness like it was her own – and perhaps it was.

And then, suddenly, it was time to leave again, for she felt a pull of another soul about to depart, and next thing she knew, she had left the Dark Castle, and she was in a small room with lots of people gathered around one of their elders as he lay in bed.

Perhaps this death would feel a little less cruel to the family and friends – but that did not make the aching in her heart any less.

+++

It took less than a day to reunite with the Dark One.

This time, she found a green witch at his feet, bleeding to death from a flesh wound in her stomach, with blood dripping from her mouth as she seemed to be in terrible pain.

The witch shot her a smile at the first sight of her though – and she never understood how people could look upon her and feel such instant relief. Whatever magic fueled her purpose in this world, it still held mysteries to her as well.

As the green witch passed away, her spirit happily walked past her, towards the white gate, but she did not look at the witch. She was more interested in the Dark One, and as she turned towards him, it seemed for a moment like he was looking at her, but she knew that that was impossible, for no one ever saw her.

She was mesmerized by his eyes for a moment, so strange and sad, yet beautiful at the same time.

Looking back to the portal as it closed, she figured she would be spending more time with the sad father who had now truly turned into a murderer, and as she turned to look at him again, she suddenly realized he had walked closer to her – which she thought was just a coincidence, until he suddenly reached his hands out to her arms and tried to grab her, but instead he just grabbed through her and she gasped.

“Can you see me?” she wondered, feeling more anxious and surprised than ever as she used her voice for the first time in forever, but he did not respond to her words, instead he was speaking to her, begging her.

“You took my son, did you not?” she heard him say, his voice hazy to her ears, like all sounds from his world sounded like they came from miles away. He had tears in his eyes. “I beg you – let me see him – bring him back – anything – I’ll give you as many lives as you want – I’ll make any deal – just return him to me.”

She gulped and looked at him with an empathic gaze, before she shook her head and said: “I would honestly love to have that power, but if I did, do you think I would take children away from their loving fathers like I did yours? I hold no real power here, just a crappy job.”

Though he was looking at her lips rather intently, he suddenly shook his head, and she wondered why he looked so confused.

“I can’t hear you,” he suddenly said, gnawing his lip for a moment. “Can you hear me?”

She immediately nodded, still surprised by the revelation that he could see her in the first place.

“Darnit,” he muttered. “I should have known that that Spell of Revelations would not have an effect on my ears. I need a Spell of Greater Hearing right now, but there’s no time for that.” He sighed deeply. “Okay, I will slow down,” he decided against his own wishes. “Maybe just yes and no questions then. Can you bring back my son?”

She had a pained expression on her face as she shook her head, and this seemed to anger him, for he crossed his arms defensively and looked fouler than ever.

“Can’t you, or won’t you?”

Realizing that wasn’t a yes or no question, she lifted one finger.

“One…” he said. “First option, you mean. You can’t.” His anger dropped a little bit, though not by much. “Aren’t you Death himself?”

She didn’t seem to know the answer herself, and she looked a little lost as she shrugged, and he looked at her black robes, not sure what to make of her.

“Are you the Grim Reaper?” he wondered, and as he saw she still looked utterly lost, he said: “Rumor has it that the dead are taken by the Grim Reaper,” he explained. “Isn’t that what you do? You do take the dead and take them to the next world, don’t you?”

She nodded slowly, figuring that she was more of a Reaper then, even if she had never really stood still at that term.

“Is there anything you can do for me? Any way you can help me see my son, or at least get a message to him?” he begged her, his hands trembling now as he stood in front of her.

She felt incredibly sorry for him – and sorry she could not help him at all – and lifted her hand to his cheek. She could not touch him – not really – and her skin seemed to go through his, and she felt nothing where he was.

He didn’t seem to feel anything either, but he was looking at her with those pained eyes, and when she shook her head again, tears fell from his eyes, though he looked angry too.

“I don’t want your pity!” he said bitterly, stepping away from her. “I don’t want your compassion, or your sad eyes upon my face!” He turned away from her as he shouted: “Leave!”

But she could not leave – not really – not until the next soul would summon her, and so she stepped back and hovered around the body of the dead witch, wondering what this woman had done to deserve such a fate.

The Dark One looked at her for a while, through teary eyes and with a hostile frown on his forehead, not wanting her to approach him, and so she did not. He sniffed and moved the back of his hand underneath his nose, like he was trying to get a grip on himself, but failing. She tried not to look at him, but each time she did, he was still looking at her, and she noticed that his anger lessened each time she looked.

It took over an hour before she felt another passing approach, and as she disappeared from place, she saw how he was studying her, his gaze intently on hers as she shot him a last empathic look, hoping that he could feel that the misery of this world wasn’t just his to bear.

+++

Another day, another dying person at Rumplestiltskin’s feet.

The man looked like a drunk, and as he wasn’t bleeding, it was a wonder to her what his cause of death was.

His soul departed cheerfully, hugging her tightly before it went through the portal, and she was left with the Dark One again, who was studying her intently.

“I should be able to hear you this time,” he said as he noticed her gaze on his.

He still sounded far away, like he was in another world, and she wasn’t sure what to say to him now. As she looked around and noticed that she was in his castle again, she said: “I wish you would stop killing people in order to see me.”

He could hear her, even if she sounded far away, and he shot her a half-smile.

“No one will miss him,” he assured her, rubbing his hands together as he looked at her, and suddenly he bowed.

“Rumplestiltskin is my name,” he introduced himself with a graceful flourish. “I believe we haven’t met properly.”

She wasn’t sure how to respond, and just said: “Hi.”

As an eyebrow rose, he tilted his head slightly. “And your name?”

She just shrugged. “I don’t know what my name is.”

“No name? Just a Grim Reaper then?”

She shrugged again as she stood in front of him, and he seemed a little annoyed.

“Is there anything you do know?”

Shrugging a third time, she said: “Probably not enough to justify killing a person for.”

He was amused by that statement. “For someone who lacks knowledge about herself, you do seem to have some spirit about you. You seem to be a moral being. But you hold no memory of a previous life?”

Shaking her head again, she realized how out of place she felt. It left a hole inside of her, and a sadness she could not distance herself from.

“Any idea how long you’ve been doing this?” he asked her, trying to figure out how old she was.

“I don’t think I’ve been doing this for a long time,” she admitted. “I still feel lost.”

That last word drew his attention, and noticing how honest she seemed, he suddenly stepped closer to her, his face mere inches from hers as he looked into her eyes.

She felt anxious at his sudden closeness, but didn’t dare to step away from him either.

“So you’re not the first Grim Reaper – perhaps not even the only one?” he asked.

“I have no idea,” she said honestly, looking into his eyes.

“And you have no idea what is behind the white gate?”

She shook her head again. “It’s not for me…”

“And do you have a boss? Someone who told you to do this?”

She just kept on shaking her head. No matter what he asked her, it was like she knew nothing.

“All I know is that when people die, I’m drawn to them, and then they see me, and move on, and I’m left in this place. The in-between… I don’t even know if I ever was alive.”

“Is there nothing you remember?” he asked her, still trying to figure out more about what she was, and what she could be to him in his quest to reunite with his son. “No person you ever see that you remember from a previous life? Is there nothing that sparks your interest more than other things?”

She was quiet for a few moments, thinking about it.

“I don’t like much about this job,” she admitted, her gaze on the furniture around them, watching the spinning wheel, the scary puppets on a pedestal, and the book case behind it, and she did feel something… something real. “But whenever I see books, my eyes linger on them. Not that I can remember ever reading one. I can’t remember anything. I don’t even know what I look like.”

He was surprised by that last statement, and for a moment he just looked at her, studying her. Then, he smiled gently: “You have beautiful blue eyes, and a pretty round face. You’re short, which you probably noticed yourself, and you have beautiful brown hair.”

“I knew that,” she said, taking some of her hair in her hand, before she continued: “But I didn’t know I had blue eyes. Or that I was pretty.”

“You’re _very_ pretty,” he continued, and as she looked up at him, she noticed how he suddenly looked away, trying to regain his composure.

“Do you think you were once alive?” he tried to change the topic, and luckily it worked.

“I think so… But I have no memories of that.”

“I’ll try and help you,” he suddenly said. “If you will help me find out how to see my son again.”

“I don’t know if I can be of much use to you,” she admitted. “I know nothing about that.”

He was the one to shrug. “I know nothing about you – but I’m going to try to find out more about you. Maybe we can help each other?”

She smiled warmly at those words, glad that someone was talking to her, and even if he was a murderer, she still enjoyed it very much. As she started to nod, agreeing to the terms, she was hardly aware that she was being pulled away again, and she felt her heart sink to the pit of her stomach that she was once more at the death of another soul – away from where she really wanted to be.

+++

Not a day passed without seeing him. And each day, he had another passing soul to offer her. She protested to his murders each and every single time, but after a few days she realized he was now taking in the sick and those about to die, and no longer looking for people who wouldn’t be missed too much.

“That man kissed your cheek,” he said after he had watched the soul of the old man that had just died depart. “Why?”

She shook her head, still not knowing more about herself. “Many do – women too. But I don’t know them. Do you think they know me?”

The Dark One seemed to have better ideas than her, and he immediately shook his head. “Too many people respond this way, you can’t possibly have known them all, not without me knowing you too. I think they see something else than what I see. They might not see a Grim Reaper at all. I can’t imagine them moving so happily to you if they recognize you as death itself.”

He was standing by his large living room table, opening a massive book, and she moved closer to him to look inside. It was a map of the world, and she studied it.

“Can you read?” he wondered, and as she looked at the words, she realized that she could.

“Yes,” she said immediately.

“That’s rare,” he muttered. “Most people can’t. Nobles are more likely to know it though.”

As he looked at her again, he studied her face. He wondered if she looked the same like how she had when she had been alive. While he looked at her, he noticed how she suddenly seemed to freeze, and her eyes grew a little wider.

“These names…” she muttered, pointing towards a small area on the map. “It’s like they’re familiar to me… This forest, these lakes, this sea…”

Rumplestiltskin looked down at the map. “Avonlea?”

“No,” she said quickly. “I mean, yes… But also… The kingdom next to it, Navarre!”

The Dark One was bouncing up and down in excitement.

“I was secretly hoping this would help! I can whisk there right now! Can you follow?”

She shook her head. “I don’t know how. I can linger around this area, but I don’t have the same sort of magic you do. I have no will over where I go. I’m a slave to this job.”

The Dark One grew quiet, feeling empathy for her. He knew the feeling.

“I’m a slave too, in a way… But luckily, at this point, I have no master. The item that holds my power is well-hidden where no one can find it, and I am free. But I do know what it is like to be a magical slave, forced to serve a purpose you do not support.”

She recognized that he was being genuine, and he looked upset on her behalf. He wanted to take her hand, to offer her some comfort, but his hand went right through hers, though she did move it so that it seemed like they were holding hands – and as they both looked down at it with melancholy eyes, she felt another pull from far away.

“I must go,” she whispered, and he had gotten used to it.

She was gone the next moment, and though he hated to see her go, he now had a purpose. He was off to Navarre, to puzzle together whatever pieces of her old life were still left in that place.

+++

A few days went by where she did not see him. She saw many people cross over, but Rumplestiltskin himself wasn’t there.

She didn’t really worry about him – after all, if he was dead or dying, she would be one of the first to know. But still, she had to admit that she missed him. He was the only person she could remember talking to in her entire life – if ‘life’ was the correct term for her state of being.

He did not disappoint, and the next full moon, she suddenly felt herself drawn to a cliff, on top of which an old woman lay, whimpering miserably and in pain, Rumplestiltskin by her side – not causing that pain, but alleviating it – and the moment the woman spotted her, her last breath left her body, and she crossed over, but only after taking her hand and squeezing it gently.

She turned to her friend as the portal closed, and as the wind blew through his hair, he smiled at her – in a way that he had not before. There was no playfulness, no glee, no mockery or any sign that he wasn’t genuine. It was like she was a sight for sore eyes, and she felt the same about him.

“Good evening, Belle,” he said softly, and as she realized what he had just called her, her eyes widened.

“That’s my name!” she remembered, her mouth dropping, and in her joy, she headed over to him to embrace him.

She had never been able to touch him before, and she only realized that the moment she felt his warm arms around her. She gulped, not understanding how it was possible that he could actually touch her, and as she broke his embrace, she brought her hand to his face, touching him, feeling his odd skin beneath her fingertips, and she was baffled by the fact that she could.

“Rumplestiltskin, are you alright?” she wondered, worrying for a second that he wasn’t quite in the other world – but he reassured her by smiling again.

“I’m fine. Let’s just say it took me a while to figure out the spell to make touch possible – and to figure out your name. Do you remember more now?”

She thought long and hard, but all she felt was that it was her name, and she felt very protective of it now, like it had been stolen from her and she would never let go of it again.

But at the same time, she couldn’t remember more.

As she looked out over the sea by which they stood, it was like memories were flooding back though, and as she turned around, she saw a castle in the distance, illuminated by the moonlight.

“That was home, wasn’t it?” she asked sadly, a feeling of melancholy coming over her, before she turned to the ocean again, fragments of memories coming back into her mind.

“I’ve been here,” she muttered, frowning. She slowly took a few steps closer to the edge, like she was drawn to it, and that’s when more flashes came back, and she suddenly froze.

When she felt Rumplestiltskin’s hand wrap around hers, she didn’t dare to look at him, afraid to meet his gaze, but he did not let go of her.

“Do… do you know how I died?” she asked, looking out over the moonlit sea, not daring to meet his gaze as she trembled.

He nodded. ‘”I do. Do you remember too?”

She suddenly sniffed before she started shaking in anguish, and as she turned to him, he was quick to embrace her again, and she sobbed against him.

He shushed her and held her and gently rocked her, hoping to bring her some comfort.

“I’m so sorry,” she eventually managed to say, her voice broken.

He shook his head. “Don’t be. Not to me. I’m sorry for you, more than anything. You have nothing to apologize for. I’m sorry you thought it was the only way out.”

She sniffed again and suddenly started laughing, though it was a bitter laugh.

“If I had known of your existence back then, I might have struck a deal with you,” she acknowledged. “Why didn’t I know of you?” she asked, desperately now, almost wishing they could change the past, even if she knew it was impossible.

He gently stroked the tears from her cheeks with the back of his hand, and he was amazed how he was truly with her now – for as long as the spell lasted – and able to touch her like she was a living being.

“Do you think it’s my punishment?” she asked after a good while of crying. “For throwing my own life away?”

“I don’t know,” he said honestly. “But maybe… maybe you should try to cross over like the others.”

The idea confused her. “I don’t think I can.”

“But if you can, you should,” he urged her. “Maybe you were never meant to remain – maybe that is something you inflicted upon yourself – maybe you didn’t feel worthy of life, and not worthy of death either. But I think you should try it.”

He was being kind again – caring, like he had been to his boy. It moved her unlike anything she could remember from before. The affection he felt for her was clear from his words, and she knew that she cared for him too.

“But what about you?” she asked sadly.

He shrugged it off. “I’ll be fine.”

But she had already heard how his voice had trembled, and seen how he had averted his gaze from hers. He was not going to be fine, but he did not want to worry her.

She shook her head, realizing the lie. “You won’t be.”

She took both his hands in hers, hoping nobody would tear her away from him in that moment, and as she stood in front of him, she whispered: “I love you.”

He looked at her in surprise, hardly able to believe those words, but he did not pull back either as she moved closer to him, and leaned back in to kiss her. He only pulled her in closer after that, starving for her affection and love, for any true love that he could find now that he had lost his boy.

But during that kiss, something happened – and all of a sudden, it was like she couldn’t feel him anymore, and when she opened her eyes, she did not see the Dark One, but Rumplestiltskin, a man of flesh and blood, whose curse had apparently been lifted by their kiss, and who was now without magic, and without a way to see or touch her.

“Belle?” he asked, looking at his human hands in terror, looking around frantically. “Oh no…” he muttered anxiously. “No, no, no… This isn’t right!”

“Rumplestiltskin?” she asked as she stood as close to him as she possibly could. “Rumple, I’m here!”

But he could not hear her, and when she felt the familiar pull, she had tears in her eyes, crying in protest as she had to leave that place – and leave him as well – and she was inconsolable as she was brought to the other side of the world to help someone cross over.

By breaking his curse, she had only brought misery upon them both, and she wished there was a way to undo it, but she feared no such way existed.

+++

A few hours passed, until she was pulled away again, and this time she stood on some wet rocks, surrounded by a wild tide that caused waves to splash all around her, and she looked up to a massive cliff behind her. There was no body, no soul she saw to save, not at first.

But then, her heart stopped and she saw him, standing by her side, wearing black robes, his human eyes sad as he looked at her, but also terribly confused.

He didn’t seem to recognize her, and she asked: “Do you know who you are?”

As he shook his head honestly, she bit her lip.

When he had told her her name, she had remembered. Perhaps if she did the same, he would as well.

“You’re Rumplestiltskin. Do you remember?”

He frowned all of a sudden, like it did ring a bell, and slowly his confused gaze made way for an understanding one, and as he recognized her, he started crying.

“Belle,” he said emotionally, approaching her and immediately hugging her, and she returned his hug with tears in her eyes, hiding her face in the crook of his neck.

As the portal opened besides them, they both hesitated, but neither of them moved.

“It’s yours,” she said sadly. “Go be with your son.”

But he still did not move, instead looking at her.

“It’s not fair on you,” he replied softly. “You were here longer - you deserve to go. Go in, and tell him that I love him, and that I will join him, one day, I hope.”

She shook her head fiercely. “If I go in, you go in too.”

As she reached for the portal, so did he. But while her hand went in there, his didn’t, as though something invisible was stopping him.

Pulling back her hand again, she instead reached for his, grasping it.

“Belle, you need to go,” he urged her, unable to hide his tears, but she shook her head.

“I don’t think I need to,” she said softly. “I think I can stay with you.”

There was no certainty that the gate would ever open for her again, but as she made up her mind about it, the portal suddenly disappeared. And then it was just the two of them, on a plain of existence where they were the only beings there.

They held each other for a long while, drowning out the loneliness with their closeness, until they both felt a pull – familiar only to Belle for now, but soon to be familiar to Rumplestiltskin as well – and they disappeared just like that again, to help another lost soul find a new home. Maybe one day, they would too.

 

_**The end.** _


End file.
